Jazz man John Altman's in tune with the stars

09 June 2010

John Altman

JAZZ musician and composer John Altman has arranged music for superstars George Michael, Diana Ross and George Harrison, and regularly jets to Los Angeles to work on film scores.

But he'll feel just as at home at Loughton Methodist Church next month.

John, who has lived in Woodford for the past 30 years, hosts In Conversation with Digby Fairweather - a famous British jazz cornettist - on Saturday, July 10.

As well as having plenty to talk about, John will also perform a selection of the hits he has worked on with his own jazz band.

He won a prestigious Emmy Award for his work on American TV show The Regans and also scored the classic tank chase sequence in the James Bond movie Golden Eye.

He told Review: "It's great to be involved in so much music, which has played such an important part in so many people's lives.

"When you start out playing, it's for fun, not to be famous. But I've been very lucky to have progressed in both writing and playing.

"You can't afford to be in awe of the stars, because you're there to work, and in most cases, you're in control and telling them what to do."

A positive outlook indeed, but then this was the man who arranged the classic Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life for Eric Idle, the finale of the Monty Python film Life of Brian.

John had long been associated with the Python team musically.

He remembers: "Eric rang me and said he had an idea for the end of Life of Brian, and then sent me a tape of him playing the guitar and singing the song, in very basic form.

"I changed some of the chords and keys, and got to work on it. In this case - and indeed many other records - at the end of it all, and when I listen to it over time, it feels as much my song as it does his song to him.

"With someone like Alison Moyet, for instance, it was the producer who rang me. With George Michael, it was George who rang me, because he knew about my work and knew exactly what he was looking for."

John, 60, was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s as a child by an uncle who arranged and composed music for big bands, and who had worked with Judy Garland and Laurel and Hardy.

His only formal musical training as a child was piano lessons, but he was a session player for Fleetwood Mac while at university, and later joined the band Hot Chocolate, going on to play saxophone with the legends like Bob Marley, Eric Clapton and Van Morrison.

A highly-accomplished and critically-acclaimed jazz musician in his own right, John's work continues to be diverse, working on the score for James Cameron's film Titanic, with drum and bass legend Goldie and also penning the theme tune for the Shelia's Wheels television advert.

He says: "The whole thing has been a blast. My talents aren't in throwing myself around the front of the stage, I like staying in the background."

But John Altman will be up front at Loughton Methodist Church on July 10 and the conversation and music should be intriguing.

For ticket availability call the church on 020 8502 3071.